Heat transfer apparatus



May 22, 1934. c. E. LUCKE HEAT TRANSFER APPARATUS Original Filed March 30. 1928 INVENTOR Patented May 22, 1934 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HEAT TRANSFER APPARATUS Charles E. Lucke, New York, N. Y., assignor to The Babcock & Wilcox Company, Bayonne, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Original application March 30, 1928, Serial No.

266,090. Divided and this application September 28, 1929, Serial No. 395,869

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a mercury vapor heating system in which mercury vapors are obtained from a boiler and the heat is transmitted to the object to be heated, the mercury vapors being a furnace that may be heated by fuel from the fuel burner 2. A stack 3 that is provided with a damper 4 leads the waste products of combustion away from the furnace.

The boiler 5 that is provided with a pressure gauge 6 is located above the furnace, or in such position as to be heated by the products of combustion. Theboiler 5 contains mercury, as indicated at 7, and a mercury vapor pipe 8 leads to the outside of a vessel 10 that is provided with a jacket 11 into which the mercury vapors are introduced. A pipe 12 is provided in the upper portion of the vessel 10 through which material to be heated can be introduced and withdrawn after it has been treated. The jacket 11 is provided with a thermometer 13. A return pipe 15 leads from the bottom of the jacket 11 and extends back to the boiler 5.

A cooling jacket in the form of a pipe 16 surrounds the vapor pipe 8. Cooling fluid passes into and through the pipe 16 from any convenient source, the amount of the cooling fluid being regulated by means of the valve 17.

The operation is as follows:-

Vapors generated in the boiler 5 by combustion in the furnace 1, pass through the pipe 8 into the jacket 11 where they are condensed, and pass back through the return pipe 15 in to the boiler 5. The amount of vapor generated can be controlled by regulating the burner 2 and the damper 4. Similar means may be usedin the modifications described below for regulating the amount of vapor that is generated. The description thereof will not be repeated each time.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 1, the pressure can also be controlled by regulating the amount of cooling fluid by the valve 17 that passes into the pipe 16, the vapors that are condensed in the pipe 8 being returned to the boiler 5 before they reach the jacket 11.

In the modification shown in Fig. 2, a second jacket 18 is provided around the jacket 11, and

cooling fluid enters this jacket 18 from any convenient source through the pipe 19 that is provided with a valve 20 for regulating the amount of the cooling fluid, so that the excess vapors are condensed and returned to the boiler 5, thus enabling the operator to control the temperature by controlling the pressure of the mercury vapors in the system.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3, the boiler 5 is provided with a plurality of tubes 21, through which cooling fluid is circulated by the pump 22, the amount of the fluid being regulated by the valve 23 in the connection between pump 22 and jacket 24. The outlet ends of the tubes 21 lead into a jacket 24, from which an outlet 25 for the 1 cooling fluid leads. In this modification, the amount of vapors that are generated in the boiler 5 by the heat from the furnace 1, can be regulated, thereby regulating the pressure in the system. As mentioned above, control of the heat generated in the furnace may also be utilized for regulating the pressure in the system.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4, the return pipe 15 leads to a condenser coil 26, and a branched pipe 2'7 from the vapor pipe 8 leads to the same coil. The cooling fluid for the coil 26 is introduced by means of the pump 28, the amount thereof being controlled by the valve 29, and the fluid passes out through the outlet 30. In this modification, a portion of the vapors are condensed in passing through the jacket 11, and the portion that passes through the pipe 27 is condensed without reaching the jacket 11.

By this invention, the boiler and the heater are maintained at the same pressure by means of a closed system. After the system has been started and purged of all gases, there is neither egress nor ingress for other gases, and when the system is cold the pressure therein is below atmospheric. The abstraction of heat for the purpose of regulating pressure can take place at different portions of the system, as illustrated in the different modiflcations.

Also by this invention, the amount of vapor generated in the boiler 5 can be regulated to a certain extent by controlling the amount of fuel that is burned under the boiler, or by regulating the valve in the stack for the waste gases. An additional regulation of the temperature to which the material is kept heated is attained by regulating the pressure of the vapors by means of an auxiliary condenser to condense excess vapors,

and which can, itself, be regulated to controlthe rate at which the vapors in it are condensed by 6 varying the amount of cooling fluid passed therethrough, and the condensate is returned to the boiler. In this way the pressures and temperatures may be accurately controlled so as-to prevent excesses.

I claim: In combination, a furnace heated vapor gen- CHARLES E. LUCKE. 

